Scarlett and The Black Dragons
by Ninjara
Summary: Takes place before GI Joe and before my story Promises to a Friend. Shana O'Hara spends some time in an intenationally recruited Special Forces unit, where she mets some interesting people. Ch. 3 now up. plz r
1. Default Chapter

Title: Scarlett and the Dragons

A/N:If you've read Promises to a Friend, then you're familiar with my use of Witchblade characters. Promises to a Friend is my first GI Joe fic. This is my second; I'm still kind of new at this so please bear with me. Reviews are appreciated. Please don't flame me too bad, this is just what takes place in my mind.

Disclaimer: None of the featured characters are mine. The characters of Ian Nottingham, Hector Mobius, and the Black Dragon unit is from Witchblade. I did name the other five Black Dragons but other than that they are not mine.

Takes place before GI Joe. Also takes place before Promises to a Friend. Explains Scarlett's knowledge of the Black Dragons and Ian Nottingham.

Summary: Shana O'Hara spends some time in an internationally recruited Special Forces unit called the Black Dragons. There she meets some interesting people.

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Chapter 1: The Black Dragons

Shana O'Hara had just gotten out of her last military unit. After a year of waiting for a transfer she'd put in last April. It wasn't as if she didn't like her current unit, she just wanted a change; something that offered more time in the field. She wanted to see some sort of action. She wanted a chance to really do something for her country and this was going to be it.

She had only put in for a transfer to another unit, she had never expected this. She had been surprised when her CO had called her into his office to tell her. 

Apparently he had been asked about her by a General Thorton Smith; who was recruiting for a new special forces unit. This new unit, codenamed The Black Dragons, is an internationally recruited unit. The Black Dragons were supposed to be the absolute best that their countries had to offer. And she was the only woman to meet the criteria General Smith was looking for in members of the unit.

Shana could not believe her luck; being in the Special Forces was one thing, but being assigned to the new Black Dragon unit was completely something else. To say she was surprised by it would have been an understatement. 

As she got her stuff together for the trip to her new base, she wondered how the other members of the unit would react to a woman in their group. She knew not many men are open to the idea of a woman in the military, but the fact that she's stayed should count for something, she thought.

The helicopter's ETA was about 7 hours, the pilot was nice and so was the man who was also in the craft. He spoke with her at length about her new unit.

"You have a specialty, O'Hara?" he asked softly, his Asian features were defined by his dark hair.

"Intelligence, Sir." She answered. "Are you the unit's General, sir?"

"No, I'm not. I'm just a CIA agent, so you don't have to call me 'sir'. I just handle the intelligence reports that the unit will be receiving. Since you're intelligence too, it looks like we may be working together at times. My name's Daniel Woo, but you can call me Danny."

"Shana," she replied to him, offering her hand; which he shook firmly. 

"I was assigned to collect the American members of the unit and answer any questions I can about your new unit. Do you have any?"

"Actually, yes. There had to have been a number of people who are qualified for this unit, some probably better qualified than me, why did they select me?"

"Well, General Smith liked the report your CO gave him, and he wanted at least one woman in the unit. You're the best qualified to fill his criteria. Not only that but you have knowledge of the martial arts as well."

"What about the men, what did they say about my being in the unit?"

"Most of them are comfortable with it, with the exception of one. Other than him, everyone in the unit is all for you."

"What's expected of us? What will we need to do?"

"Well, as far as I know the unit is a Special Forces; you'll do covert and black operations, gathering intelligence, going in where no military can officially go, freeing hostages, save the world; that sort of thing."

"That's not expecting too much at all." she mutters sarcastically.

"I like you already." Danny says, laughing. "At least you're real about this, the other two Americans in the group are too over confident about it. One doesn't say much at all, unless he's speaking in riddles and the other seems more of a poet than a soldier. Here's what's going to happen when we arrive at the base. First, you'll be required to spend 48 hours in the base's infirmary and submit to a series of tests. Then, you'll meet the other members of your unit and spend some time with them. There's one more thing I need to tell you before we get any farther."

"What's that, Danny?" Shana asked.

"The members of the unit are required to take certain controlled substances..."

"You mean drugs? What sort of drugs?"

"I haven't been told exactly. Psychotrophic, I think. they're designed to increase stamina, physical strength, speed, agility, visual acuity, those sorts of things."

"We have to subject ourselves to that? What if we don't want to?"

"I won't lie to you, Shana. You really have no choice, General Smith has ways of getting what he wants; half the time you don't know what it is, until you're doing it. You can be the best, cleanest cut person in the armed forces, but you cross him and he'll find something to use against you. He'll get you a court martial and a dishonorable discharge, if you're lucky."

"He can do that?"

"Can and will, he's done it before. Another one won't really make any difference to him."

"So, I guess I have to do it. Are the effects of the drugs permanent? Or will they eventually wear off?"

"I'm not sure if the effect are permanent or not. After some time; a tour of duty with the unit, you can request a dismissal from the unit, as far as I've been told. Are you willing to go through this, to be in the Black Dragon unit?"

"Yes. I don't think I've got much of a choice after what you've told me."

"I know. The General liked what your CO had to say about you to much, he would've gotten you in this unit one way or another."

In compliance to regulations for the unit, she had spent the past two nights in the infirmary to run various tests; and the first of the drugs had been administered. All the recruits for the Black Dragon unit had the same, Shana wondered if any of the others had also woken up disoriented and dizzy the next morning.

The others were all in an activity room, they could do what they wished with down time. She had been told the others were aware that she was to join them. Standing at the door to the room, she took a deep breath and entered.

She walked into the room; all around her, men sat, the other members of the unit, busy with their various things. A quartet of them sat working some very complicated jigsaw puzzles, two played a serious game of chess, another looked up from his book at her, his hazel eyes met her blue ones. He had an olive complexion and dark hair pulled back in a short ponytail.

In an instant he was next to her. ~No way, he could move that fast~ she thought.

"Shana O'Hara?" he asked.

"Yes."

"We were told you'd be joining us." he stated simply. "I am Ian Nottingham. That is Hector Mobius." he motioned to the black man playing chess.

"That is Christian Blair," He motioned to the other man playing chess with Mobius. Naming all the people in the room, gesturing to each in turn: 

"Alexander Crastronoff, Lucius Diamonte, Antonio Franchetti, and Jonathan Leger."

"This is no place for a woman." Blair said bluntly, walking up to Shana.

"Don't mind him, Chere. He is, how is it said, primeval in his thinking." Leger spoke, his soft French accent evident in his voice.

"I, for one, am pleased to see such a beautiful senorita in this room." Diamonte added. "Don't the rest of you agree?" Diamonte's question was meet with most of the others words of agreement.

Shana smiled at the compliment. ~Aside from that Blair guy, they seem like a nice group of men. Half of them aren't bad looking either.~

"I will show you to your quarters, My lady." Ian said offering her his arm. She took it.

"Thank you."

As he walked her to her quarters he spoke again; 

"Unfortunately, Blair's people skills need some work; you spent last night in the infirmary like the rest of us, right?"

"Yes. And I was told about the drugs when I was coming here." she replied.

"Did you feel dizzy or disoriented, in general?"

"Actually, yes. I felt like I had been on a Tilt-a-whirl going at mach 5."

"The others experienced the same thing. A side effect of the drugs, I believe."

"Makes sense, I just hope I won't be addicted to them when I leave this unit."

"That will not happen, My lady. The drugs have never proven to be very addictive, I believe you will not become very dependent on them."

"How do you know that?"

"I was placed in this unit by the order of my employer, the real person behind the Black Dragon unit; he provides the drugs for this unit."

"Danny wasn't sure, but maybe you know. Are the effects of the drugs permanent?"

"I won't lie to you, My lady. The effects can be very permanent."

"So, General Smith is not in charge of the unit?"

"He is in charge of making sure we are all kept up to speed but other than that, my employer is."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"I will not keep secrets from my allies in command. You, Mobius and I are the triumvirate. We are the unit's commanders. I chose you to be the second in command and Mobius to be the third." Ian said, stopping at the door of one of the rooms.

"I didn't think the ones in command would be chosen for a few months," Shana said softly. She searched Ian's eyed for any sign of him toying around with her, but found none.

"No, I was certain that I wanted you to be my second, the second I was finished reading your file and your CO's report on you." he paused, "Here is your quarters, My lady."

"Why are you calling me that?"

"Simply because I wish to, My lady. If you wish me to stop, I will. Do you wish me to stop?" Ian asked.

"If you want to call me that, I'll have to come up with something to call you. If you're going to continue, I'd rather you not call me that too often."

"Very well, I'll try not to call you that to often, Lady Shana." Ian said with a smile. "We are all choosing codenames to use on our missions, will you join us, now that you know where your quarters are?"

"Sure, Knight of Nottingham,"

"Knight of Nottingham?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

"It fits you." Shana reasoned. "If you're calling me 'Lady' and 'My lady', I'm going to call you 'Knight of Nottingham'. You kind of remind me of all the stories about knights and chivalry, the Round Table and all that."

"As you wish, Lady Shana."

They walked back to the recreation room where the others were all seated in various couches and chairs. Mobius, upon seeing Shana enter the room, stood from his chair and offer it to her. She refused but he continued to stand, stating that if Lady Shana could stand so could he.

~Now two of them are calling me 'Lady' these guys are unbelievable, they both are really like the knights of medieval times.~

"Okay, men. Time to chose our codenames." Ian stated simply. "Christian Blair, you first."

"Firebird"

"Alexander Crastonoff?"

"Thanatos."

"Lucius Diamonte?"

"Terron"

"Antonio Franchetti?"

"Armon"

"Jonathan Leger?"

"Bastille"

"Hector Mobius?"

"Moby" Everyone stared at Hector. "What? I wanted to keep it simple."

Ian laughed, before he continued. "I will go by Dragon. O'Hara?"

"I hadn't really thought about it yet." she admitted.

"May I make a suggestion, Lady Shana?"

"Okay, Knight of Nottingham." She said, the other members got a kick out of the fact that she was playing Ian's game. ~I could start to enjoy being around these guys.~ she thought.

"I think you should go by 'Scarlett', it is perfectly suiting to you, you are from the Southern region. You are beautiful, and your last name is O'Hara."

"I'm nothing like the character from that movie." she said.

"I'm aware of that," Ian said, "I never believed for an instant that you were."

"I think I will use it though, not like I can think of anything better at the moment. Thanks, Ian." 

"You are welcome, Lady Scarlett." 

A/N: This is a work in progress, I hope it's good so far. 

If you want to know why Ian Nottingham calls Scarlett 'Lady' and 'My lady' it's just the way I thought he should be portrayed. He is like the knights of medieval times, from what I gather from the Witchblade show and many of the fics in the Witchblade section at this site. 

Jonathan Leger's last name if you want to know is pronounced 'Lee-jay'. At least in my mind, it is.


	2. Into the darkness

A/N: I have finally returned to this story. I wanted to make certain that I would be able to make this fit in with the rest of my Black Dragon stories. This chapter starts taking the story in a darker direction. I do not think this is rated R yet.

Chapter 2: Into the darkness.

She glanced down at the papers in front of her reading it once again, and looking to Ian in confusion. The two of them stood in his small study, alone.

"What does this mean, anyway, Dragon?" What specialized training?"

"I know as much as you do, Scarlett." Ian said looking back at his friend and second. He had known and trained with her for 6 months now. Scarlett was two years younger than he was, but they shared the same birthday, March 20, the vernal equinox. If the old religions are to be believed; that meant that they were special, strange and mysterious forces of destiny are wrapped around them.

Having grown up an only child and an isolated one at that Ian never had any real friends; these were the first attachments he had ever made. In many ways, the Black Dragons had become more of a real family to him, then anyone else. The men were his brothers and Shana was the sister he always dreamed of having; he had always wanted to have a sister, but to him it was more than that.

He had always known that Scarlett was different from the rest of the group somehow, that she was unique in some way. She was the only one among them who possessed a completely pure heart untarnished, perfect purity; and the ability to look through the shadows and find the light. Purity not innocence, because she did know the horrors in the world and still she sought after the good that she believed existed in all things. Many would call such an idea ludicrous and naïve; at times Ian would probably agree with them, but he knew that he would give his life for her to continue her hope in that.

To the whole of the unit, she was their sister and there was nothing they would not give to protect her. No price was too great and no obstacle was insurmountable if it was for her. If she wished it, it would be because none could dream of denying her.

She was hope itself, personified, undying and never ending. The thought that such a creature could exist in this cold and too often cruel world was incredible. Only one thing had ever symbolized hope so truly; its name was already a nickname for her, used first by Daniel Woo and then the rest. It was what he used to call her now,

"Phoenix, it's only three months of this specialized training and them it's back here and straight to work. Think of it as a challenge; you know you love a good challenge."

"I like challenges just fine, Ian." She began in a relaxed tone, "Don't you find this a bit odd? I mean; they have already heightened four of our natural senses at the very least tenfold; we are stronger, faster and smarter than any average person is. They've done all that; so why do any of us need specialized training now?"

"And why only you?" Ian put in, "I don't know; I wish I did, Phoenix. I honestly and truly do. If I had any reason to suspect anything about this I'd tell you. Just trust me; none of this is anything to worry about."

"I trust you, Ian. I trust all of the Black Dragons; Firebird included, even though I know there's something wrong with him."

"What do you have against Christian Blair?" Ian asked. He had noticed that she went out of her way to avoid Blair for some time now.

"I honestly don't know, but it has some thing to do with the way he looks at me, like I'm a piece of meat."

"You mean a chauvinist?" Ian asked.

"No. I could put up with that, Ian. I am in the army; and I've come across the type a lot. No, Blair is different. He's dangerous, something about him scares me." She finished softly.

"Perhaps lust; you do understand that more than half of the men are in love with you, Phoenix."

"Does that include you," she asked quietly as she watched him.

Ian flushed rather visibly and only nodded slightly.

"I think I could have loved you, Ian. Were I capable; I think I could have loved you well." She said turning away from him.

"Why do you say that you're incapable of love?" Ian asked, confused. Doesn't she know; doesn't she understand she is love. To look upon her is to look at the very face of love.

"Perhaps I worded that wrong; I cannot allow myself to fall in love with someone I work with, I don't want to know the pain of losing them." She paused, "There is an even better reason why you and I could never be. The both of us are already entwined into destinies that are only connected by our friendship. There is some one out there for you, Ian; and once you find her, she'll be one of the luckiest women in the world."

"And what of you?"

"For the longest time; maybe forever I've had this feeling deep inside of me. That someone is waiting for me, that they need me to be with them. Some nights I dream." She paused, "I dream that I'm in the mountains somewhere; and I've never really been to the mountains before. I'm walking and just ahead, there's a cabin. Someone is standing in the doorway; the sun has set, and the light behind him is outlining him, so I can't really make him out in the shadows. He's saying my name; but every time I try to get a little closer, it seems like the cabin moves farther away from me."

"Then, how will you know him?" he asked.

"I'm not sure. I suppose that some instinctual part of me will recognize him. All I know right now is that I have to wait, be patient and be alert." She finished.

"Have you finished packing yet?" Ian asked, changing the subject.

"Yeah, a little while ago." She replied, grateful for the change. Neither wanted to think about the possibilities of what might have been between them.

"Daniel is bringing the jeep by in a few minutes; for some reason they want you on a civilian flight. First stop will be..." He trailed off and started perusing the papers.

"Greece," she finished for him, "Then China, Egypt, Italy, England, and finally Ireland; I read the papers. Do they actually think that I can do all these countries in three months?"

"I suppose so," Ian replied as he watched the jeep pull up to the barracks through the window.

"I guess this is goodbye for now." She said as she joined him at the window.

"I'd rather not say it; it sounds too permanent."

"Well you have to say something." She argued.

"Then I will say; good journey to you."

"You're making it sound like I'm going on some sort of quest."

"Perhaps it is," he said enigmatically.

She paused for a moment before nodding back at him,

"Maybe you're right."

Ian watched by the window long after she had gone. He had tried hard not to alarm her that he was worried at this specialized training as well. He wondered if perhaps Irons had found out about his beloved Phoenix, his dear sister in everyway but blood, and subsequently was Irons trying to remove her.

Then Irons would be a fool because he knew of her abilities, and how useful those abilities were in their operations. One of those abilities was the purity in her that Ian so admired seemed to attract people to her. She was strong, intelligent, and courageous. If Irons were to remove her; he would not only break the chain of command, but also ruin the whole unit for any operation.

Ian knew one thing; regardless of whether or not Kenneth Irons was his father. If anything at all happened to Shana, he would see the man burn in hell for it even if Ian had to drag him there, himself.

One month later as Scarlett finished her stay in Egypt; she had become aware of one thing. At the beginning she had thought that this specialized training was to perfect her hand-to-hand capabilities; but with the long distance training and the fact that each of her 'tutors' were taking special care to point out the kill zones of a human being, she was becoming more certain.

They were showing her how to be a murderer, an assassin. Her first 'tutor', who only went by El, has said that the two of them were a lot alike. In fact all of her 'tutors' were saying that; and she would not be learning anything from them if she was not already like them. That both worried and frightened her; she did not want to kill people, and especially not like this.

It was already too late for that every 'tutor' she had insisted on a test, and someone would die at her hands. Only El had looked at her with pity afterwards maybe there had been more to El's comment than she had thought.

Her mind shifted gears as she saw her target below. The target, she could no longer think of them as people, the very thought would drive her insane. She could not think at all when she did this; guilt gnawed at her heart and tore at her soul every day.Occasionally she would think about the man in her dreams; what would he say or do if he knew what she was doing. What would he think; would he shut the door on her, and leave her to the cold night.

She could not think of him now; if she did she would fail, and the exam had only begun.

A/N: The majority of this is the way Ian sees Scarlett. At the end, this chapter takes a dark turn as Scarlett enters into the second month of her unwanted special training.


	3. Growing Dark & fading light

Chapter 3: Growing Darkness and Fading Light

She looked at the stars; seeking solace from them. It was her final night in Ireland; she had completed the exam to her 'tutor's' satisfaction. The stars offered her some measure of peace; she existed in two worlds now: one of light and life, the other of darkness and death.

She noticed a few things had changed in the course of two months, especially since she had that black out in England three weeks ago. She didn't fell as ill as she used to after an exam, she could successfully push away all thoughts, and she no longer felt so guilty. She didn't think she felt anything at all anymore; she lacked both emotion and feeling, she could even watch a target die without feeling anything. She whispered a prayer to whatever higher power was listening if there were any that would listen to her; for help because she was too used to killing and death now.

She would cry if she could; but what was the point of that. She wondered if Death would cry for the lives that it ended.

Tomorrow she would board a civilian flight back to the States; Danny would pick her up at the airport and take her back to the base. That was tomorrow; tonight was hers alone. Her 'instructor' had left her to herself since his job was finished. This one had been the worst; ruthless and cruel, but his reputation was well known, He never missed a target.

Over the past two months, she had discovered several mysteries about what they had done to her and she wondered if the others were the same. She'd learned that in addition to what she was aware of; she possessed some sort of advanced regenerative capabilities. A quick healing ability that worked with in 24 hours on shallow superficial flesh wounds; such as cuts, but bullet wounds and anything else still required medical attention. She had learned this on a night like this; a night that belonged only to her and her penance.

She had wandered out of the town into a quiet place of grassy knolls where the stars were easier to make out. She sat on one of the knolls and pulled a knife from her pocket. Slowly and carefully she drew the blade across her wrist. She watched the blood flow and wished to feel something. The bite of the blade, guilt, anger, or remorse at what she'd done; but still she felt nothing.

Ten days passed since that night in Ireland; it was the first full unit mission in three months, their objective was the detainment or termination of a particularly ruthless third world dictator. They had been told that the people were suffering and this guy liked executions with his breakfast.

The dark night sky stretched out above, overcast and no sign of the moon or the stars. Such a thing would ultimately work out in their favor. Ian, Christian and Jon met up with Scarlett, Lucius and Antonio with in the perimeter of the compound. Ian's group was in charge of artillery; if they were seen, they'd be in charge of the cover fire. Scarlett's group were the 'sweepers', they had entered by the main gate and taken out what guards and security systems that they encountered. Hector and Alex arrived a few seconds after the lights went out signaling the completion of their task.

A few seconds after the lights went out the remaining guards opened fire on the approaching pair. It prompted the start of an all out fire-fight that served as a perfect distraction. With the focus all on returning fire while trying not to get hit, no one notice the shadow that slinked off into the main house.

Ian signaled for a head count and was startled when Hector signaled back that they were short by one. Glancing around, he noticed that he didn't see Scarlett anywhere. If she had gotten away from the fire- fight then she would head into the house after the objective. She was silent and both proficient and efficient in her work; he could trust her to get the job done, all they needed to do was continue to provide the distraction.

She slipped like a shadow into the bedroom; listening all the while to the breathing and snoring on the dark. She was surprised this guy was still asleep with all that racket going on outside; but then her hearing was better than the average person's was. Within seconds she was standing by the bed, taking her knife she put it to his throat.

Nothing like cold metal to wake someone up; he startled, staring at the knife and the beautiful woman holding it. This creature, this being was too beautiful to be mortal in his mind; this was an angel of death. She said nothing, only stared at him with darkened, cold eyes before she swiftly pulled the knife across his throat.

The arterial spray of blood splattered on the carpet; some on the wall and on her.

She shook her head as if to clear it and put her hand to her temple. She didn't know how she had ended up in the house or the bedroom and how she was now covered in blood; only seconds ago she had been in the court; in the middle of a fire fight and then it had gone blank. She looked to the body in the bed; somehow she knew that she had killed him, but she couldn't remember doing it. Absently she recalled El's instruction about the defense mechanism that all people had to block out certain memories, but then why didn't she remember leaving the court and entering the house. It was too many questions for her to answer especially since her mind was hazy. She noticed that the fire- fight must have stopped since everything was now quiet.

Ian looked up as she approached; his first instinct was to see to her when he saw the blood, but he saw no wound. The thought that he just had filled him with a cold dread as he watched her. She walked up to him before saying;

"It's not mine," she said of the blood.

Ian wanted to scream, yell and curse. He had known that there was something different, something wrong about her. Irons truly deserved a place in hell if he'd spent three months driving her to assassination. He knew that this was the specialized training, but something scared him just now. Her voice was totally devoid of any emotion or feeling.

Once they had gotten back on base; she had withdrawn to her quarters and refused any company. By dawn the next morning she was gone; Ian managed to track her to a thickly wooded area not too far from the base.

He found her sitting on a rock; knife in hand cutting across her arms. She had been there for a while, because she was working her way down from wrist to elbow.

"What are you doing?" he asked softly, taking care not to startle her.

"Penance." She replied. He was relieved to hear a note of sadness in her tone.

"Are you okay?"

"I don't feel anything."

"You probably wouldn't," he said; noting that her other arm was cut up and bleeding too, "At the rate you're bleeding, you'll probably pass out soon."

"I feel nothing, Ian. I felt nothing when I killed him."

"You must feel something or else why are you doing this penance?"

She simply looked at him and noted that her vision was blurring; he was probably right and she was loosing too much blood.

"If you feel nothing then why do you cry?"

"I don't know. I can't even remember what happened in that room or how I got into the house. It's like I blacked out; I was there, but I wasn't."

"Have you ever blacked out before, like this?"

"I have no history of this. The only time I ever blacked out was in England."

Ian wondered on that; it sounded like his first experiences with self-hypnotism. Had she somehow managed to hypnotize herself without her knowledge. He resolved to watch her closely; if she had done that and he could prove it. That might stop the tailspin of sanity.

By the close of the first year, he had observed that she did enter a trance-like state as she neared the target. She had been skeptical about hypnotism and the idea that she had done it to herself. It had been Danny who had successfully put her under several times before she copulated that he and Ian were right.

But the more Ian watched her; the more concerned he became. She had spent three months in the company of assassins. Physically and intellectually she had the training, she knew how to strike and at where; but psychologically she simply did have it in her. When she went into her trance she didn't employ any obvious or normal method of self-hypnotism.

It made him wonder if maybe she was reacting to a post hypnotic suggestion placed on her; and if she was then who made the suggestion. He could see the puppet; but where and who was the puppeteer.


End file.
